FindMyPast.com Reviews

(based on 42 reviews)

207 of 384 people found this review helpful

Just want to say don't fork out any money for this site. In its current state its awful to use, doesn't return decent search results and is frustrating. There are better sites to search out there. If they ever listen to their customers and make the changes that the customer want it should be okay. Ancestry is by far a superior site these days.

In summary, I would not recommend FindMyPast.com to a friend.

160 of 335 people found this review helpful

I subscribed to Findmypast for years and would have said it was the best genealogical resource on the Internet. No more. Findmypast rolled out a new search problem that searches "in a whole new way". What's new is that it fails to find things, even things found before. The site is currently a total disaster. They obviously didn't check the use their customers were making of the data, so have rolled out something that many experienced genealogists wouldn't want ("lucky dip" searches), didn't test it properly and are now expecting subscribers to help them fix up the mess. I am no longer a subscriber, I got a refund. All you read about Findmypast on the Internet now is people complaining that the site has been trashed and isn't working properly. I won't subscribe again until I read on the Internet that things are working well again, which I think will be quite a long time. I would recommend anyone else not to subscribe either. If you really want to access their data, try a pay as you go first to see whether you can live with what has been done to a formerly-great resource.

In summary, I would not recommend FindMyPast.com to a friend.

168 of 378 people found this review helpful

Findmypast (FMP) recently changed their website from one that was very intuitive, and easy to use and read, to one that is approaching unusable.

The fundamental mistake that FMP made was not running the new site in parallel with the old site whilst they ironed out the problems.

This has caused a huge uproar from many of its users and a great loss of trust in the company.

The layout of the webpages is extremely poor with large data entry and data display boxes with only small font text inside them. This means that any page you look at is very spaced out and spreads over many screen pages. You will find that you will soon suffer from RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) from all the scrolling up and down you have to do.

It is the sort of design style you would expect to find in the Ladybird series of infant reading books. I'm not joking!

The data entry fields are often wrongly or confusingly named and sometimes even don't have a title. As an example, the current search form for England Births has two fields for the year. One is titled 'Birth Year' and the other is titled 'Year of Birth'. I have yet... (Read the full review)

In summary, I would not recommend FindMyPast.com to a friend.

176 of 362 people found this review helpful

A jumbled, time consuming mess of filters and drop down menus and so slow it often times out. Luckily my subscription ends on May 31 so I only have 2 months with the new FMP. And it used to be so good...

In summary, I would not recommend FindMyPast.com to a friend.

163 of 320 people found this review helpful

I have been a subscriber of this genealogical site for a number of years. It was an excellent site for research. However since March this year when the site was supposedly brought up to date the whole thing is a disaster. FMP have completely destroyed what was a supurb research site. They keep announcing they are adding lots of new records. There is no point if the site is unusable They are refusing to acknowledge any responsibility for their actions, saying it is an improvement. If that is so then I am the easter bunny. Millions of subscribers have complained to no avail. Their reward is to be be banned on their forum page and Facebook page have the telephone support line cut off and be refused a refund. This is a breach of contract as FMP are not providing what the subscribers have paid for. This present situation not only involves the U/K but subscribers world wide. Avoid this company subscription is a waste of money.

In summary, I would not recommend FindMyPast.com to a friend.

191 of 339 people found this review helpful

The FindMyPast.co.uk site was until 5 weeks ago one of, if not, the best genealogy search tools that we had in the UK. The site moved to a new search engine 5 weeks ago and since that time it can no longer be trusted in terms of search results. Previously available functionality has also been removed. The overly complex user interface, the use of large fonts, whitespace and the general "look" of the new search has made the whole experience one of deflating frustration. The response from FindMyPast has been inadequate at best. The company themselves have admitted that their support organisation is being inundated with thousands of email help requests a day, so many that they have had to turn off their telephone support line. Their own feedback forum has over 2300 negative comments and over 270 specific improvement ideas to get the search facilities back to a useable state. After 5 weeks of this all they have done is some minor cosmetic changes to the forms and screens while at the same time trumpet the addition of new data sets. There would not be enough space here to list the issues... (Read the full review)

In summary, I would not recommend FindMyPast.com to a friend.

192 of 371 people found this review helpful

Fmp - has gone from being a much loved genealogy user friendly site to oblivion within days.
it is obvious to all that the new data platform is a disaster and unfit for purpose..

it can't have been tested adequately prior to it being inflicted upon us all
and the irony is that fmp want the subscribers to advise of glitches and issues and also tell them what to put back that they stupidly removed.,you couldn't make it up.

to add insult to injury - highly critical posts are deleted within minutes from fmp facebook page ,and the person who posts it blocked from further comments.
the demand for refunds are ignored and the offer is then 2 months additional subscription free,so the agony goes on.

fmp - are in a position where they have alienated their subscribers and this will cost them dearly.
if you are serious about genealogy avoid fmp - for the foreseeable future.

In summary, I would not recommend FindMyPast.com to a friend.

154 of 317 people found this review helpful

I have subscribed to FMP for many years and have praised and recommended it to everyone. I only received 5 weeks of my current subscription before it switched to the new site. Now it is a total disaster and a complete waste of money. You are better off looking at free sites. They have switched off the phones and do not reply to emails. I have asked for a refund but did not receive a reply. I cannot decide whether it is a case of fraud and/or breach of contract. Empty promises of restoring features have not materialised. Subscribers are angry, insulted, alienated and leaving as soon as they are able.

In summary, I would not recommend FindMyPast.com to a friend.

177 of 360 people found this review helpful

FindMyPast has been a fantastic site for UK genealogists for quite a few years. The quality of its records has been excellent. Its search engine has been very good, especially when you compare it to most of the other genealogy websites - it was straightforward and intuitive, you could search using common sense, it wasn't trying to be too clever for its own good.....all in all I was extremely happy with FMP and worked on it several days every week for years. OK, nothing is perfect, but FMP was pretty damned good. I had no hesitation in recommending it as the best starting point for anyone wanting to start their family tree, or for those looking for a good replacement for another site.

Fast-Forward to the middle of March 2014. The reasoning behind the changes FindMyPast have made are probably many and varied. The way they have managed the change has been, at best, misguided, and at worst an absolute Farce. Notwithstanding replacing the old search engine with a new fangled, whistles and bells, click here, filter there, monstrosity, but their customer-care went completely down the pan, out of the window, and... (Read the full review)

In summary, I would not recommend FindMyPast.com to a friend.

532 of 713 people found this review helpful

At the beginning of the month, Find My Past rolled out their new platform which has proved to be a disaster worldwide.

Pre April, this WAS a very useful and user friendly site, used by thousands of both amateur and professional genealogists. It still has a great range of records available but they are now mostly unobtainable unless you have hours to waste drilling down through various filters.
Problems with the new site are far too numerous to list here but you only need to read previous comments, visit other review sites, FMP FB pages and even their own Forum page to gauge the level of anger their subscribers have voiced. Hundreds of critical posts on their FB page have been removed and many commentators blocked.

Sadly, FMP's view is that the thousands of dissenters to their 'upgrading' WILL eventually learn to love the new format and many will have to downgrade their browser to Chrome, as a continuing problem exists for IE users to even support it. Rather than put their hands up and admit they got it ALL wrong and reinstate the old site whilst reviewing the new platform and rectifying the hundreds of errors... (Read the full review)

In summary, I would not recommend FindMyPast.com to a friend.